What follows from here is a story that isn't entirely unfamiliar (in fact, it's dangerously close to this year's WALL-E), and yet director Gil Kenan manages to take the script and turn it into his own compelling take on a tried and trusted concept. However, in a time of desperation, two citizens Doon Harrow (Harry Treadaway) and Lina Mayfleet (Saoirse Ronan) go on their own quest to try and find an exit from the underground city, which doesn't go down well with gluttonous Mayor Cole (Bill Murray) who just wants his next meal in peace. Set many years on from this event however, much of the inhabitants of Ember are unaware of their origin and all the more scared of it as a result. Taking place almost exclusively within the confines of Ember, Gil Kenan here presents us with a vision of a dystopian future, where mankind has been forced to live underground in order to survive.
In this respect, City of Ember is a solid family film that most audiences should enjoy regardless of age, gender or anything else good entertainment, and a wonderful story to remember at that. To be sure, there are moments when the film dabbles in and out of tired clichés, most of which we have seen countless times this year alone in other children's adventures yet what distinguishes this from, say, The Chronicles of Narnia or The Spiderwick Chronicles is through its mature themes and presentation that keeps the older viewer in mind. As a result I found City of Ember to be a gratifying and sensually enticing experience with brilliant performances, an endlessly captivating story and pace, and a great mix of fantastical environments and characters which pave way for subtext that is grounded in simple allegory of our own, current world.
THE CITY OF EMBER MOVIE
Fortunately for myself I have never taken it upon myself to read the source material on which this movie is based upon, nor had I even heard of it until now. But chances are the kids who want to see it will remember it more for the made-to-be-turned-into-a-theme-park-ride sequence in which Lina and Doon navigate a roiling river than anything else, anyway.When moving from book to motion picture, there are a myriad of problems associated with such a task, one of which comes from those die hard fans of the original story. That may be City of Ember's biggest flaw: In the effort to keep young viewers' attention by moving the action along briskly, it sacrifices some storytelling logic. The teen actors are also good - particularly Ronan, who was so memorable in Atonement - even though the movie doesn't give them too much to do besides race from place to place and suddenly come up with "aha!" ideas when the situation calls for it. Even with all of the lights hanging above, it's a dark, dirty place. The sets and costumes are great in a nice departure from the tech-heavy dystopias so popular in other post-apocalyptic stories, Ember is a Dickensian landscape of grimy streets and scruffy urchins. Based on Jeanne DuPrau's best-selling novel, City of Ember has an original premise and a fast pace - both of which are sure to entertain tween fantasy fans.
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